Song of the Day: The Good Life

The song of the day for Saturday, November 15, 2014 is “The Good Life.”

About This Song

“The Good Life” was written in 1962 with music by Sacha Distel and lyrics by Jack Reardon. Originally titled “La Belle Vie,” “The Good Life” was featured in the movie Seven Capital Sins. Tony Bennett is the singer most widely identified with “The Good Life;” other good recordings include those by Betty Carter, Carmen McRae and Stephane Grappelli. It has been said that Distel wrote this song about Bridgette Bardot, who refused Distel’s marriage proposal.

About This Version

This version is Bennett’s original recording for his terrific 1963 album I Wanna Be Around. It was arranged and conducted by Marty Manning and was produced by Ernie Altschuler.

About Today

Yes, it’s Saturday once again. And I have a nice video for us today: Tony Bennett singing today’s song from a 1999 concert, with Ralph Sharon on piano.